Filtrete Water Station and 3M Integrated Cycler and Simplexa Honored at Edison Awards
3M announced today that it has been honored with Silver and Bronze awards at The Edison Best New Products Award galain New York City. These distinguished awards symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, inspiring America’s drive to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.
As an innovator in the filtration and healthcare industries, 3M was recognized for the launch of the Filtrete Water Station in the Consumer Packaged Goods – Household category, winning a Silver award. The 3M Integrated Cycler and Simplexa received a Bronze award in the Science & Medical – Diagnostics Aids category. 3M shared the second award with Focus Diagnostics, the infectious disease diagnostics business of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading diagnostic testing company, which provides its Simplexa™ line of molecular tests on the 3M Integrated Cycler. Recognition for ingenuity in these categories continues to highlight 3M's proud reputation as a leader in innovation.
“Thomas Edison was known for recognizing a need in the marketplace and then creating a solution to meet that need,” said Laurie Altman, General Manager at 3M. “In that same spirit, the Filtrete Water Station was conceived – providing water drinkers with fast filtering option that delivers the convenience of bottled water without the cost or waste. We’re honored to be an Edison Award winner.”
Introduced in July 2010, the Filtrete Water Station filters water directly from the tap into four reusable, BPA-free water bottles. In seconds, the water station helps reduce sediments, chlorine taste and odor from tap water. The Filtrete Water Station also can help reduce environmental waste, saving up to 3,000 plastic bottles per year from ending up in landfills, and ultimately, helping save individuals and families $420 to $4,420 per year in bottled water costs.
The innovative 3M Integrated Cycler claimed a win in its respective category, along with Focus Diagnostics, for representing advancement in real-time molecular diagnostic technology. The first product on the 3M Integrated Cycler, Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test, was the first commercial real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to receive FDA clearance for the detection and differentiation of the 2009 H1N1 influenza and other influenza A viruses, in May 2010. 3M and Focus Diagnostics collaboratively developed the product as an alternative to rapid, but at times unreliable, point-of-care flu tests requiring several hours or days to report results. Other Simplexa tests running on the 3M Integrated Cycler cleared in the U.S. by the FDA include the detection influenza A and B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) 1.
“Many PCR tests are performed in high-end reference laboratories which receive specimens from a physician, a process that can add days to the results reporting process. Our compact instrument helps hospitals and other laboratories perform high-end molecular testing in-house, all while maintaining a small laboratory footprint,” said Tom Cole, diagnostics marketing manager, 3M Infection Prevention Division.
“This year’s awards recognize a broad array of innovations including far-reaching products, services and technologies that impact daily life,” said Edison Awards Steering Committee chair Sarah Miller Caldicott, a great grandniece of Thomas Edison. “The awards applaud the forward-thinking innovations for which Thomas Edison remains internationally admired. It’s exciting to see companies like 3M continuing his legacy of challenging conventional thinking.”
The Edison Awards honor a wide variety of innovative products with Gold, Silver, and Bronze prizes representing first place, second, and third in each of its 11 categories. The 2011 Awards are sponsored by The Nielsen Company, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Spencer Trask and Bzz Agent.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $27 billion in sales, 3M employs about 80,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
For additional Filtrete press materials and images, visitwww.filtrete.com/pressroom
3M and Filtrete are trademarks of 3M. © 2011
1 Product bearing CE mark and distributed in Europe includes the detection of influenza A and B, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Epstein Barr, BK Virus and Bordetella pertussis.
Hunter Public RelationsMelissa Kuhn, 212-679-6600, ext. 223mkuhn@hunterpr.comor3MRobert Brittain, 651-733-7034orMary Kokkinen, 651-733-8806
